Pretty!!

This is my Narnie-esque picture. It's another one that was found amongst images taken at the end of last year. At the time wasn't overly keen but now i'm loving it!! :)

"Local Narnia" © James Thorne

National Geographic Daily Dozen

My Bunny picture has been featured in the National Geographic Daily Dozen. Hopefully it gets picked to be featured in the actual magazine too!!!
 http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/daily-dozen

Mmmmmm Peppers!

Some home grown (not my home, but my aunty's) sweet peppers. Look at how lovely and red they are! Took advantage of the lovely sun shining through the window and took a little picture

Copyright © James Thorne

More Youtube videos!!

I'm loving doing these!! Let's hope they get people watching them. So i've put a video up showcasing pictures from my Truro Allotments project and that can be seen here - http://youtu.be/1lVXwNppxt0

And today I posted one which just shows off a wider range of pictures, my portfolio basically. And there will be another one showing those off too but here's the first - http://youtu.be/PzQdk4bOF5Y

Youtube Video

So I made my first youtube video! It's pictures :) but i think i'll do a few more and show off my photographs on there too. Here's the link: -
http://youtu.be/wZ-GirOZXkU

Beckford Profile

The beginning of my artist profile is now up to see on the Beckford Fine Art website. Looks good so far, i'm looking forward to next year coming round and having work up in the Ludlow Exhibition. Now just have to get my work out to more places!! Here's the link for the profile on their website - http://www.beckfordfineart.co.uk/c/123/i/772/

Market Stall

I'm thinking about and starting to look properly into selling small versions of my work at the market. There are a few local markets here and I think some of the work would sell quite well on the stalls. Obviously not framed full price versions, but say A4 £30 versions the same as I have recently put on offer at http://www.dottygallery.com/
Watch this space!!

Cork Street Gallery Exhibition

Sadly my "Bunny" picture didn't make it through the final round of judging to get into the exhibition :(. Would have really liked it to have been in the exhibition to get people seeing my Beautiful Dead series but nevermind, they will get seen somehow!! :)

KeyAgent Property Photography

So last friday - 15th July, I went and photographed a property For Sale in Hereford. The job was offered up by KeyAgent who paid by estate agents to commission freelance photographers, to photograph properties for their clients.....It's all a bit random if I'm completely honest, but i was sent along to this house to take photos. They give you a good handfull of rules and regulations on how the photo should be taken - height, lighting, etc. But i wasn't there to complain because they were paying, a bit of money.

So I did the work and have sent them the pictures, just waiting to get paid now. 

Beckford Fine Art

So I have signed up to show work in the Beckford Fine Art (http://www.beckfordfineart.co.uk/) Ludlow Castle Exhibition next year. Have to pay of course, but they do all the advertising, and marketing and setting up of the exhibition. And I get a stand which will be able to show a few full sized framed pictures, and a webpage with them showing off work too. I think it'll be good and a good little "investment"!

Cornwall pictures

So here are a couple, literally, of pictures from my recent camping trip to cornwall. Not entirely convinced by them yet, but im sure they'll grow on me and i'll be happy with them enough to send them for stuff down the line!! That usually happens haha!

"Island in The Sea"

"Yellow View"
Pictures copyright © James Thorne

Also, the names will cange i think - especially the Yellow View one but i couldnt think of anything else while working on it and saving it so there you go!! And if you look veeeeery closely on that picture you can see a plane in the sky. It'll be like a Where's Wally!

Look at me ma, top of the world!!

Another addition to my Dead Animal series. This poor fellow was found just down the road from my house, i think he must have fallen out the tree because he seemed in perfect condition...apart from the deadness.

Copyright © James Thorne

Shortlisted

My "Bunny" picture has been shortlisted out of 2,100 to enter the 2nd round of judging against 300 (i think) other artists for a place in the Cork Street Gallery Open Exhibition in London. Here's their website http://www.corkstreetopenexhibition.com/default.asp

Very exciting stuff!! Even more exciting if i get through haha!

Couple of new pictures for you

These were taken in the "goldmine" up the road from my house. I don't actually think there's gold in there, i mean it doesn't look very gold...more sort of brown and green, and desolate. I'm sure if there was gold there'd be more going on up there!!

But over the years it's become more and more eerie up there, the old train accessories being taken away so there's nothing much left but a big empty shed and train carriages. People are often dumping rubbish up there too, be it small amounts or loads - have come across a broken down old jeep left up there once. It has started to feel like the sort of woodland area that you see in a horror film where the inbred evil family take pleasure in stalking, hunting and torturing people. Maybe i should have someone holding my hand next time i go up there?!?!

Images are Copyright © James Thorne

Photography Competition

Please Please Please VOTE for my submission at One Life Photos 2011:http://t.co/bASXhH2 :) Thankyou!! You can vote everyday, you know that's the best way to go!

Other Thorne....Tshirt design

My good old sister Becca has got a design on tshirts for sale at  http://www.compassionatedorset.co.uk/shop/
It's a regional off-shoot of compassion in world farming...not the tshirt the website/charity. So it's a good cause, and this weekend they are offering Free Delivery! I know! Many different styles of tshirt from ones with arms to ones without!
And by the way...Bec...i like the picture :)

"Bunny" Picture in F-Stop magazine

So yes I said i'd let you know - It's the "Bunny" picture that's got into the group exhibition in the online photography magazine F-Stop. http://www.fstopmagazine.com/groupexhibit.html

F Stop Magazine

Had an email this morning saying that my work should be published in the upcoming F Stop Magazine. Sadly I can't actually remember what image I sent to them (i send so many all over the place!!) but I will let you know when it is up and available to see so you can see and enjoy! :) Here's their website for now - http://www.fstopmagazine.com/

Hereford Photography Festival 2011

Entered a few images in the festival today. It's quite good because it's a lot cheaper than many other competitions and you get a total of 5 picture slots...im happy with that! I think they let us know if we've got through in early June. Don't you worry your little socks though because if i get through I will be letting you know......if not i may have a moan haha! No I wont really, i might, no i wont - it's a decision not to be made lightly!!

Here are the images I've entered, it had to be pictures taken between Jan 2010 and now other than that it was an open brief.

All images are Copyright © James Thorne and are not to be taken or used without written permission from the copyright owner

artgallery.co.uk mentalness

I setup a profile on the site artgallery.co.uk the other day and you upload 3 images for them to review then if they're happy your profile will be online. All free - lovely job.

Checked today and only one image was accepted because the other two had watermarks on which advertised my webiste (you all know but...) http://www.dottygallery.com/

Now what i don't understand is, i have the website and name promoted and mentioned throughout my profile which they have no issue with, but the same place/words are written as a watermark over a picture and this is wrong because it's advertising a website which isn't artgallery.co.uk?!?! HEY?!?!

Today I am loving Nick Brandt's photography

Okay maybe not just today because there's no way of going off his work!! It really is THAT beautiful and reminiscent to me of my all time favourite photographer Sebasiao Salgado - so high 5's there!!
Go have a look at his work, it's guaranteed to make you go "oooooooooooh" http://www.nickbrandt.com/

Exhibition In Croatia!!!

So carrying on from the last post.....the reason Blur Magazine had emailed me this morning, and had been trying to get in touch with me, was because they wanted to invite me to exhibit the Highland Cow picture in thier Blur Photo 011, taking place from June 9 - July 3 in a central exhibiting gallery of the Croatian National Post Office, in Zagreb.

"Highland Cow" © James Thorne

Big up the cow!! good work cow!

Published and didn't even know!!!

So I got an email this morning from a very friendly woman in Croatia representing a photographic magazine called Blur. Here's what it is - "BLUR magazine is an international e-magazine dedicated to artistic photography which is currently read in around 170 countries all over the world. It is published quarterly in English and Croatian edition and it is completely free of charge."
She has been trying to email for a while now but I've not been getting them annoyingly. Apparently "Highland Cow" (i'm sure by now you know what that looks like hehe) was published in their magazine last year! So here is the link for the online magazine, you need to download it but it's free and doesn't take hardly any time, so please have a look through and see my little pic with my name by it (yaaay) in there http://www.blur-magazine.com/hr/blur-magazine-20/

Twitter now aswell!!

So not only have I gone and put Dotty Gallery on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dotty-Gallery/166336376757239) , I've now gone all the way crazy mad insane and put it on Twitter too!!! http://twitter.com/#!/DottyGallery

It's all going mad now isn't it, it's off the chain!!! Well hopefully it goes mad anyway, and lots of people start seeing Dotty Gallery and all my pickie-tures!

Hornet Suprise!!

Found this Hornet dying in the living room, don't know what he was dying of but was pretty much gone and seemed to be going quietly without much suffering (apart from the death bit) so left him alone. But when the poor fellow was gone i decided to photograph it.

Went for the sweets because the colours sort of reminded me of a picnic, and how much things like wasps and bees love the colourful sweet flavours...i've never seen a hornet at a picnic, phew, but still...

So here's the picture/s i took. Enjoy!

"Overindulgence" © James Thorne

NEW!! Cheaper, smaller prints on Dotty Gallery

Just in time for the Royal Wedding.....I have decided to offer all Open Edition prints (from the Digital & Medium Format Gallery) on Dotty Gallery, at A4 size for £30.

So regardless of the "main print size", be it A2 or A3+, they will all be available as unframed A4 prints. At the moment this is only an option for UK Mainland, but in the future I will change it so the offer is for everywhere.

So go go go!!! http://www.dottygallery.com/theimages-page.html

Oh it's not really got anything to do with the Royal Wedding, Sorry Willy & Kate

Dotty Gallery is on Facebook!!

So yes, kind of does what it says on the tin but still - I've finally gone through with it and put a page up on Facebook for Dotty Gallery. Still suspicious about the copyright and things so i'm watermarking everything Which i should do anyway whenever i post stuff on the internet). I know i know i'm like an old man paranoid of everyone and everything!!
So even though it's is of course pretty much exactly the same as here, go have a look and become a fan and tell your friends to become a fan and then everyone in the whole world will eventually be a fan!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dotty-Gallery/166336376757239

Becca's Royal Wedding

Everyone is getting very excited and interested in the royal wedding coming up....that or the fact they get the day off work. This is the link to a royal wedding print my good old sis (http://www.beccathorne.co.uk/) has done -

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=206112879412889&set=a.129258950431616.17803.107065015984343&type=1&theater

I absolutely love it!! Saw the sketch and print while at her house the other day and loved it straight away. I look forward to seeing the actual lino cut this was done from too!

chick didnt make it, he tried though

A friend had some eggs she was incubating hoping they'd hatch, sadly only one made it. A few were very close but couldnt make it through the shell. Seemingly a common occurance with chickens - sad of course but surely that's a bit of a design flaw? Anyway....as you will know i do find that photographing dead things does usually work out well, not only showing them off well but also provides a good interesting picture. So here you go -

All images Copyright © James Thorne

Personally my favourite and the one I think works the best is the middle one. Not in your face but not too subtle either.

Found But Not Forgotten

I know i've said this a couple of times but I found another picture or two........well actually that's a bit of a porky pie - I didnt find them or forget about them, they are just pictures that at the time, when i had finished any post production work I wasn't 100% that I liked them or that they looked any good. So those pictures got left, not deleted no no no, just left behind. Like a puppy at Christmas, or an elderly relative everyone's decided "meh" about, or the shirt you've bought in a panic just because you thought you needed one then got home and decided doesnt quite fit properly......ummmmm....
So yes this tiny collection is of pictures that at the time i didnt like but now i look at them again i think - "yeah there is something I quite like about that". They might not be amazing but they arent horrible to look at!

"Scenic"
Copyright  © James Thorne

Copyright  © James Thorne

Copyright  © James Thorne

"Flood"
Copyright  © James Thorne

"Haybales"
Copyright  © James Thorne
This one I actually do really like and hadn't put it to one side, I just don't think I've posted it and wanted to!!

"Windscreen Leaves"
Copyright  © James Thorne

"The Table's Water"
Copyright  © James Thorne
May have posted this already....my bad if i have!

"In The Trunk"
Copyright  © James Thorne
Another that I've always actually liked, but whenever I show it no one seems to like it. Makes sense I suppose as I could fully see what I was photographing as I went past, and someone else viewing this has no clue! 

Only Me

I've decided to make Dotty Gallery (http://www.dottygallery.com/) a showcase for just my work, for the time being. Michael Pinfold's work can still of course be seen on his website http://www.michaelpinfold.com/

Bluebells

This is a picture I took as a present for my ex-girlfriends mum, so it's a Limited Edition 1 of 1. I hadn't shown off the image before for some reason, but here it is. It was a really tough picture to get because I was trying to get the Bluebells all in focus and the wind was really strong, so then decided to just let the movement happen throughout the entire picture. I think it turned out really well!  



Fatherly Portrait

The Big Thorne wanted a picture of him done for a New Age shop's website that he's recently got involved with for his Mandooka Massage business. So of course I was happy to take his picture -

"Dad"
Copyright © James Thorne

Bit of advertising for him aswell, this is a small quote taken from his leaflet descibing what to expect when you get a Mandooka Massage: -
"Mandooka Massage focuses on the client, the session itself, and the quality of touch: to achieve these, the pracitioner needs to be centred, grounded and fully present in the moment."

It's been a while (not the song)

I havn't been on here in aaaaaaaaaaaages, i know who i blame but i'll keep that to myself! *shaking my fist at them* But it's okay, i've been searching and applying high and low for work be it photography or just normal person work. Have only recently found positions working for galleries, so I was straight on applying for those! That is something I would love to do and need to do aswell for the future.

Also been looking again at photographer roles aboard cruise ships, when i finished college I was going to work as a photographer on a cruise ship and things didnt quite work out in the end, but now i have a few reservations about doing it.

Sending off pictures for open exhibitions and competitions too. They always have such far away deadlines don't they - I mean it's good when you need time to get the picture you want for it, but if you happen to already have a picture that you're content and happy with for that theme/brief then it's a long old wait!!

Scopey Scoperson

I have a picture in the Saatchi Gallery website in the SCOPE Showdown that's going on. They have art showdowns regularly and they are very good to enter, but you need lots and lots of votes.

So please please please vote for my Ricky photograph, even if you like the one next to it more!! I know that's a bit of "gamesmanship" but.....well i would like to get through and have a long way to go! :)

Here's the link, you do need to sign up to vote i'm afraid
 http://www.saatchionline.com/showdown/match/showdown/3/artist/95023/art/1094502

Good shout from The Becca!

Got an email from my sister tellling me - "this is the funniest blog i have ever EVER read. i have been LOLing. real life LOLing. brilliant."

So against my normal reaction of lalalalala smile and nod head....i had a look, and you wont believe it but she is spot on!! From what i've seen of this blog so far it's fantastic and lots of fun and great pictures!

If you're reading this go have a look, do it do it.......

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

NSPCC Bear

Another mini project found from back in college (I dont know where they have been otherwise I would have posted them sooner!)

I cant remember what the actual brief for this was but I clearly decided to do an NSPCC advert. I have always thought the nspcc and barnardos adverts are incredible and of course always capture your attention even if you dont notice what they are actually saying straight off.

Here are my nspcc advert's - the idea is there but possibly didnt quite get the advert to hit home like it should. But still look at the bear....poor little bugger!!

All images are Copyright © James Thorne

Counterpoint and the Contrasting Element's in Society Project - way back when

I'm going through all my pictures and portfolio for a number of different reasons. To make sure i'm being as critical as i should be toward the work that is being shown and in my main portfolio/to build small consistent portfolios of images that could work together in exhibition form/so that work is ready as a whole to be sent of and shown to galleries and commitees when the time comes.

Doing this is i came across the images used for my final project at college, a project which stemmed from Counterpoint. Counterpoint is a term often used in music and defined (thanks to Wikipedia!) as - "the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent". So basically sounds that are very different but work perfectly well when used together.

I decided to use this on things in society that perhaps shouldnt go together but actually look harmonious and not necessarily unusual when put together. Two of the pictures have already been posted at the very beginning of my blog, but I didnt fully go into and explain the project then.....



"Ghetto Croquet"



"W.I. Coffee Morning"

"Modern Ballet"

"Professional Shoe Shine"

"Vegetarian Butcher"

"Classical Punk"

All images are Copyright © James Thorne